Archaeologists discover Thracian jewels

Archaeologists say they have unearthed an almost 2400-year-old golden hoard in an ancient Thracian tomb in northern Bulgaria.

The unique treasure was found on Thursday near the village of Sveshtari, about 400 kilometres northeast of Sofia, team leader Diana Gergova said.

She said among the artifacts, dating back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century BC, were gold jewellery and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring.

The Thracians lived in what is now Bulgaria, and parts of modern Greece, Romania, Macedonia, and Turkey between 4000 BC and the 7th century AD, when they were assimilated by the invading Slavs.